If Only You Knew
by Tinkerbell128
Summary: There's no harm in telling a simple lie to get someone off your back. But what happens when your plan backfires and those getting hurt are closest to you? Secrets revealed, jealousy between friends, and one hell of a misunderstanding. TaixSora & MattxMimi
1. The one where everything starts

Sora walked out of class, feeling restless and drowsy as the day seemed to drag on and on. Another boring lesson, another teacher willingly filling in all their free time with homework. She missed the DigiWorld. A lot. And sure, maybe sometimes you'd get into fights and have evil digimons try and kill you, but you had just as much of a chance dying from complete and utter boredom if you listened to Mr. Miyagi, their history teacher, drone on for what seemed like hours...

_I've been spending too much time with Tai_... she mused.

She walked through the corridors until stepping out to the front of the school. Finally, the weekend. She started heading towards the front gates but realized she had promised to hang out with Tai after school. She looked around for him but didn't find her best friend among all the students hurrying out of school. Sora sighed.

Too much courage, not enough punctuality...

After waiting for another five minutes, she decided to go look for Tai. He had probably forgotten all about it...

X-X-X-X-X-X

Matt was making his way out of school, guitar slung over his shoulder when he heard it. The voice he dreaded most.

"Matt! Matt, wait!"

Matt winced, but turned around nonetheless, inwardly resisting the urge to run away as fast as he could. There was Jun Motomiya, running towards him so fast, one might have though she was competing for the gold medal.

_'Maybe if I just turn back around and ignore her, she'll go away...'_ Matt though desperately, _'154th time lucky, right?'_

Unfortunately, he took too long debating where he should hide and Jun had reached him, right after after violently pushing a girl aside and screaming at her to watch where she was going because, as she reminded the girl angrily, who did she think she was, getting in the way of her and her Matt?

"Hi Matt," she said, slightly breathless from having run a good 100 metres.

"Hello Jun," Matt said in a bored tone. He'd had this conversation millions of times before and it was starting to get quite old.

"So, Matt, what are you doing this afternoon?" she asked.

"Well, I - "

"Perfect, I'm not doing anything either! We could get together! Oooh, we could go to that new burger place, I've been told it's great and maybe then we could-"

"Jun!" Matt interrupted her before she got any more ideas. Oh god, he dreaded this bit. How was he going to tell her he wasn't interested? I just want to be friends? No, that won't do. The further she stays away from me the better. Friends was too much.

"Yes, Matt?" she said batting her eyelashes at him.

"Uh, well, Jun," he started, "I don't think I can, uh, go out with you..."

Jun's mouth formed a perfect 'o'.

"Why can't you go out with me Matt?" Jun asked with shocked eyes, as though one would think the idea to be completely absurd.

As he tired to search frantically for an excuse, Sora passed by. Matt turned when he saw the familiar auburn hair and deciding he needed to buy himself some more time, he grabbed her arm and steered her towards their group of two, making her a part of the conversation.

Sora let out a surprised cry and looked around, her eyes frowning in confusion when they landed on Matt and then found Jun.

"Erm- hello," she said uncertainly, raising an eyebrow as Jun examined her critically up and down, as though trying to detect faults.

Matt, his mind reeling trying to think of something to say, was suddenly struck with inspiration. A way to get rid of Jun, once and for all. It was so simple, so brilliant, so completely perfect he couldn't help but marvel at why he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Well, you see Jun," he started looking from Sora to Jun, his smile becoming wider, "I can't go out with you because I'm already going out with Sora."

The silence that followed was frightening. Both girls were staring at him with wide eyes. One of them was looking on in shock and confusion as the other looked as though she was about to cry.

Matt locked gazes with Sora and tried very discreetly to tell her to go along with it. It was difficult seeing as the latter was staring at him with an open mouth. Matt nudged her to get some sort of reaction.

"You- what?" she asked confused, but seeing Matt's blue eyes widen with desperation she corrected herself, "I mean, he is. Going out. With me. Right. "

She tried to smile, she really did, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"I'm sorry, but this one's taken," she told Jun apologetically.

Jun just looked from Matt to Sora, as if she was having a hard time believing it.

"But- but I know everything about you! I know where you live, your favourite colour, what brand of shampoo you use... How could I not know about this!" she said bewildered.

"Excellent question Jun, maybe Matt can give us- _you- _some sort of explanation?" Sora muttered darkly, elbowing him hard.

"Well, Jun, you see, uh- We wanted to keep it quiet... Fan-girls, you know, might have become a problem for Sora... Yeah, that's it," he explained, nodding fervently to the girls. while Jun nodded along with Matt, obviously convinced, Sora rolled her eyes at the feeble excuse. Elbowing him again, harder this time, she couldn't help but revel in the way he winced in pain. What on earth had he dragged her into?

Ignoring the sudden pain produced in his stomach, Matt grabbed Sora's hand with his and pulled her gently in front of him, wrapping his arms around hers to stop her from hitting him further. He bent his head down to whisper in her ear hurriedly, "Just play along, _please_. I'll explain later."

Jun seemed to think that Matt was whispering words of affection in her ear, because the next second she had exclaimed, "Alrigt, alright, please take your public displays of affection somewhere else!"

How anyone could mistake trying to elbow a person as a public display of affection, Sora had no idea. Matt however, seemed to have been given an idea by Jun and he placed his head on Sora's shoulders and nodded vigorously, agreeing heartily with Jun. Sora just tried not to flinch at their awkward position.

_'He owes me big after this_,' she thought to herself.

Jun was now looking at the presumably very much in love couple and gave them a sad smile.

"Well, it looks like you two really like each other," she said wistfully, but making no move to leave.

Both Matt and Sora gave her huge, false smiles.

"I don't know what I would do without my Sora," Matt said, lying through his teeth.

"And I'm so deeply in love with Matt," Sora sighed in what she hoped was a dreamy voice; she didn't think she could hide the disgust very well.

Matt, exasperated that Jun wasn't moving on and leaving them alone, kissed Sora hastily on the cheek.

Sora froze, eyes wide and only just managed to smile in time and fake a very overly exaggerated giggle.

"Oh Matt," she said with a girly voice that didn't suit her at all.

_'I'll choke him,' _Sora decided, _'I have this sudden urge to strangle something...'_

"I'm sorry Matt. I didn't know you were involved with someone else. And I do not date guys who are already taken. Even if they are really cute," Jun said, finally admitting defeat, "I'll see you two around." And with a cheery wave and a smile she walked away, leaving Matt and Sora standing there.

As soon as she was out of sight, the two sprang away from each other as though they had received an electric shock. Trying to ignore the glare he was receiving from Sora and hoping that what they said about red-heads' temper wasn't true, he quickly started apologising and explaining.

"Sora, I'm so sorry," he said, "I've been trying to get her off my back for ages and I was desperate!"

Sora's anger quickly disappearing, because it was unusual for her to remain angry at someone for very long, she decided to take pity on him.

"Don't worry about it Matt," she sighed, "It's fine. But you owe me big."

Matt nodded solemnly.

"I know, and really, I will do whatever you want, I promise," he assure her, "And thanks. At least now I won't have to worry about avoiding her in the corridors."

Sora laughed and gave him a smile.

"I guess I'm glad I could help," she said and waved goodbye. She suddenly realized she had been looking for Tai.

"Oh, no," she mumbled, looking around. But the school was deserted now, and there was no sign of Tain anywhere.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked.

"You don't know where Tai is by any chance, do you? I was supposed to meet him but I guess he's forgotten..." she muttered.

Matt shrugged.

"I haven't seen him since this morning," he told her.

Sora nodded.

"Thanks anyway Matt," she said. She was about to turn away when he stopped her once again.

"Hey, Sora, has Mimi talked to you about my band's gig tomorrow?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, she mentioned something," Sora said.

His eyes lit up slightly with hope.

"So uh, that means she'll- you'll," he corrected himself quickly, "be coming right?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. Could Matt possibly like...? Her eyes widened. And if he did?

"Yeah Matt, we'll be going," she assured him, "Mimi- I mean _we_ wouldn't miss it for the world."

She smiled knowingly at him. He started fidgeting under her gaze but they kept their eyes locked. It was obvious Matt was uncomfortable. Sora raised an eyebrow, as if daring Matt to deny her suspicion. The blonde just ran a hand over his hair and sighed.

"Alright, you got me," he said.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, "You like Mimi?! Why haven't you said anything before!"

"Sora! Say it a bit louder why don't you?" he hissed and he looked around anxiously.

"Oh please, who's going to find out, the trees?" she rolled her eyes, grin still in place. Matt saw the look in her eyes.

"Oh no, no Sora, whatever you're thinking, don't, because I don't want you to meddle in my life," he told her seriously.

"Jeez Matt," she said hurt, "Thanks."

He sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry I just... I just don't want you to do anything, ok? Stay out of it please," he said.

Sora frowned.

'Why don't you tell her?' she asked.

Matt's eyes widened.

"Are you crazy?" he almost shouted.

_'So he's scared,_' Sora thought, _'He's scared Mimi will reject him.'_Sora snorted to herself. As if that would ever happen...

"Sora, promise me you won't tell anyone," Matt pleaded.

Sora sighed. As much as her best-friend instinct told her to run straight to Mimi and confess everything, she couldn't betray Matt's trust.

"Fine," she said, "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. I promise."

Matt relaxed visibly.

"Great! Well, then I'll leave you to find Tai," he smirked, "I'm sure you'd much rather be with him than with me."

Sora was about to ask what he meant by that, but Matt had turned around and left. She frowned and shook her head, looking around at the empty school.

Tai had forgotten all about her. And even though a voice inside of her repeated constantly the answer, she couldn't help but wonder why it hurt, that he had stood her up, so much more than it should have.

Little did she know that a teenaged boy with messy brown hair and a care free grin had been watching them whilst they were talking to Jun and had heard everything they had said.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Tai had been looking for her. He had left class late because his teacher had wanted to talk to him about something or rather. He hadn't listened much to the teacher and had no idea what it actually was he had talked to him about. He had blocked out the teacher's monotone voice and had been fantasizing about spending his afternoon with Sora. Sure, he nearly always spent his time with Sora, but Tai looked forward to it every time. And if he was honest with himself, what he felt for Sora went beyond normal friendship. They had spent their whole lives together and had become even closer when they find out they were both Digidestined. Even when he was just a kid, Tai couldn't deny that he had a crush on Sora. He had been in love with his best friend since he was 10. For six years, he had been in love with his best friend. If only she felt the same way...

He had been walking through the corridors looking for her but headed outside when he didn't find her. It was then that he saw it. Matt with his arms around her and saying how much he loved her. He could literally hear how his heart shattered into millions of pieces. He had wanted to go over there and punch Matt's stupid rock star face in but common sense had won over and he did nothing. As he stood there watching and listening the two talking happily with Davis's older sister, he heard the words that had torn him apart. Those few words that had broken his heart.

'I'm so deeply in love with Matt..'

And to top it off Matt kissed Sora, _Tai's_ best friend and girl of his dreams. He couldn't take it anymore. So he ran. He ran away from them before they could see him and before they could see that his eyes weren't very dry...

And now, he sat on a swing at a park nearby, sulking. Sora didn't like him. She liked Matt. And she was going out with him by the looks of it. Tai sighed.

He remembered all those times he had almost slipped and told Sora what he felt. He groaned. He felt like an idiot. A small part of him had actually thought she liked him back. Every time she smiled at him, he would think her smile was meant just for him and he would treasure that moment in his mind forever.

But no, it had been Matt all along.

A sudden anger washed over him. Matt! Tai glared at the ground when he thought of the blonde haired boy. He had known. He had known all along that Tai liked Sora and yet, he had asked her out!

He had betrayed his friendship! He was angry at the both of them. Sora, well, she wasn't stupid. She must have noticed at least at some point that Tai liked her! Everyone else did! Or was she really clueless about how Tai felt? No, he decided, Sora would have figured it out. And besides, she had stood him up! She had gone off with Matt when she was supposed to be meeting Tai...

Maybe she preferred Matt to Tai...

Tai, her best friend since they were kids, the one who would always boast about being a better soccer player than her and then later on, get his butt kicked...

Life was so unfair.

Tai sighed once again. It was no use getting worked up over this. _Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't, deal with it..._

Well, Sora was free to do whatever she wanted. And if Matt wanted to betray him like that, than there was nothing Tai could do... He would just pretend that they didn't exist... He would forget about his feelings for Sora...

Easier said than done.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Mimi had just finished her facial and beauty treatment when she got a call on her mobile. She saw Sora's name flash on the screen and answered.

"Hey Sora!"

"Hey Mimi, what are you doing right now?"

"Well, I just finished my facial, why?" Mimi asked.

"Want to do something together? I was meant to meet Tai after school but he never showed..." Sora trailed off.

Mimi noted a slight hurt in her voice.

"I'd love to Sora! Why, we can go shopping and do all sorts of girly things together! We might even be able to change your wardrobe a bit! Check that, we can buy you a whole new wardrobe!'" Mimi said excitedly.

A whole afternoon spent shopping with her best friend? Now that was something Mimi could not miss!

Sora just laughed on the other side of the line.

"Sure Mimi, I'll even let you buy me something pink," she promised and Mimi could hear the smile in her voice.

"I'll meet you at the mall in ten minutes!" Mimi told her, "Don't be late!"

She hung up and placed her phone in her purse. She started walking towards the mall. It wasn't far. Under normal circumstances, she would have taken a Taxi, no matter the distance, but today, she wanted to walk. She felt happy. And not only because she had just had the most expensive beauty treatment ever, no. She had been in a great mood ever since a certain guitar playing, blonde haired boy had bumped into her in the corridor at school. Mimi had clumsily dropped her books and Matt had willingly picked them up from the floor for her. A small smile played at her lips when she remembered the incident.

"Sorry Matt, I didn't see you," Mimi had apologised, blushing a little.

He had just smiled and said that it was fine since it had been partly his fault anyway. And Mimi's heart had sped a little when he had smiled so warmly at her. She had liked Matt for a while now, but was too scared to do anything. And in Mimi's opinion, it should always be the guy that makes the first move, not the girl. Like in romance movies. The boy would sweep the girl off her feet and spoil her rotten with beautiful jewelery and chocolates (but not too many, one had to watch the amount of sweets she ate) and flowers and then, they would watch the sunset and cuddle together as they confessed their undying love for each other.'Yes, that sounds right,'

She recalled their incident this morning. It had actually given her some hope that Matt didn't see her as the spoilt brat she had been when they had been stuck in the Digiworld together. She had changed. She could tell and so could most of the other Digidestined. At least the ones she saw frequently. Mimi had matured in her own special way.

After both Matt and Mimi had apologised for not watching where they were going, they were both parting ways until Matt turned back around.

"Mimi, wait!" he had said.

"Yes Matt?" she said a little breathless. She could just imagine him telling her how much he loved her and that he couldn't stand to be without her. She just knew it.

"My band's playing at a concert tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wanted to come. Tell Sora to come too," he said.

What a let down.

"Sure Matt," she tried not to sigh sadly, "I'd love to go. We'll be there."

"Great!" he exclaimed, "See you Mimi!"

"Bye!" she had waved and left for her next class.

Well, it was better than nothing. Right?

Mimi reached the mall and sat on a small unoccupied bench outside. That walking had really taken all her strength. She was enjoying the feeling of the sunshine on her face when she heard Sora call her name. The auburn haired girl walked towards her and smiled.

"Hey Mimi! Ready to have a girl's day out shopping?"

Mimi was already on her feet. The word 'shopping' had given her all the strength she needed.

"Always!"

Arm in arm, they walked into the frenzy of colours, people and textiles.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I hope you enjoyed, and that it wasn't too painful. It'd be wonderful if you could let me know what you though ;)


	2. The one where Matt practices his romance

"Mimi, I said no," Sora said as she tried to get away from the girl in front of her. But Mimi was persistent.

"Sora, just try them. I for one think they will look fabulous on you," Mimi told Sora as she held out a pair of bright pink boots.

"_No_."

"But-"

"NO!"

Mimi pursed her lips together in annoyance and frowned.

"Fine!" she huffed and continued searching for more clothes on the rack. Sora sighed and unwillingly followed her. They had been at it for hours and yet Mimi had still to show that she was getting tired. Sora was just about ready to collapse on the floor and she hadn't even been doing much. Mimi was the one who had checked every centimeter of each store, just to make sure she Haydn't missed a thing. She was the one who had gotten into a fight with an old lady, arguing over who had seen the pink and brown striped jacket first. She was the one who had made the uncivil remark about said lady's choice of hairstyle. And so, she had been the one to be dragged out of the store by Sora before her heated discussion with her newfound enemy could turn into something much worse as the lady had gone for her purse. But nonetheless, Mimi resisted.

Ten minutes later and Mimi emerged from the racks of clothing, crestfallen.

"Nothing here," she sighed and Sora found it hard to keep a smile from forming on her face.

"That's too bad," she tried to say in a wistful voice, but failed terribly, "I guess we might as well leave now."

Mimi's sudden large grin had hers faltering.

"No! Don't worry Sora, the mall won't close in another 3 hours! Besides we've barely had time to get you clothes," Mimi said in a bright voice.

Sora's mouth dropped open and she stared at her incredulously.

"What?" Mimi asked innocently.

Sora began to doubt whether her friend was blind and could not see the dozens of bags she was carrying around and practically chained to.

"Mimi, we've bought practically half the mall already!" she said.

Her bubbly friend just laughed.

"What we've bought would only be a quarter silly," she said, as though that settled the matter, and made to go on to the next shop.

"Mimi, I'm too tired, can't we come back another day?" Sora pleaded, trying to grab a hold of her before she disappeared through the mass of shoppers once more.

Mimi sighed and turned back to look at Sora. "You're right Sora, we should leave," she said in a small voice, "I don't think I'll find anything anyway..."

Sora raised her eyebrows in surprise at the sudden change of tone in Mimi's voice. It was filled with sadness, and Sora could see tears forming in her eyes. The mall must be more important to her than she had previously thought. The red head was perplexed.

"What exactly are you looking for Mimi?" Sora asked gently, afraid the brunette would unleash her tears.

"Well," Mimi sighed once again, her eyes cast downwards, "I wanted to find something pretty to wear for-- for Matt's concert tomorrow," she told her.

Sora's surprise was visible on her face, but it was soon replaced by a smile and a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"Well, then," Sora said, gathering the bags filled with clothes around her, "Lets go find you an outfit!"

Mimi looked up and her eyes locked with Sora's hopefully.

"Really? You don't mind?"

Sora just shook her head and smiled.

Mimi jumped up and she turned back into her bright self again, as though the change had never even happened.

"Great! Well, first we can go to that shop over there, and then maybe we could try-- Ooh! Sora look at that one over there! It's covered in pink! There has got to be something for me there! Ugh, look at that woman entering it! Those scarfs should be banned! I mean honestly, I don't think she sees what the rest of us do, because I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that..."

As Mimi's happy rambling continued and her arms pointed in different directions towards the shops, Sora trailed behind her, shaking her head slightly and smiling at her shopaholic friend.

---------------------------------------------------------------

An hour and a half later, Sora found herself opening the door to her apartment. She was in such a hurry, she didn't bother taking her shoes off or placing the bags in her room. She dumped them all unceremoniously in the hall and rushed to the telephone, hoping to see Tai's number blinking at her from the screen. Her face fell when she saw no new messages had been left and noone had called. Where was Tai? Why hadn't he called? Sora's mind raced with millions of possibilities as to why Tai had suddenly disappeared. What if he had been in an accident? Sora's eyes widened at the prospect.  
_Oh god, what if he's hurt, what if he was mugged or attacked by someone? _  
It wasn't like Tai to not only forget to meet her after school, but to not call excusing himself either. She stood there, dreading the possibilities of what could have happened to her best friend, and becoming more and more nervous at each passing minute.  
She reached for the receiver and dialed Tai's home. At the fourth ring, she heard the voice of Kari, Tai's younger sister, on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Kari! It's Sora, is Tai around?"

"Hey Sora, Hang on a minute I'll just go check."

She could hear the phone been placed down and faint footsteps walking away. A minute later, Kari had come back and spoke again.

"Sorry Sora, he's not here. That's strange though..."

"Do you know where he is?" Sora asked anxiously.

"No, why? Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh no, everything's fine, I just wanted to talk to him... Well, tell him to call me when he gets there, okay?

"Sure, no problem:"

"Thanks Kari, Bye:"

"Bye."

Sora hung up and walked to her room, phone still clutched in her hand. She lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts.

_I hope Tai's okay_... was the last thing that crossed her mind before her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

-------------------------------------------------

Kari was watching television when Tai got home, a sulky look on his face.

She looked up from the TV and yelled in the direction of the kitchen, "Mum! Tai's home!".  
Tai's mother popped her head out of the kitchen door and saw Tai.

"Hi honey, dinner will be ready in a while," she told him.

Tai tried smiling, but on his face appeared something resembling more a grimace than a smile.  
His mother Haydn't seen though, she had stuck her head back in the kitchen to continue with her cooking. Kari however, was staring at her brother worriedly.

"Are you okay Tai?" she asked him concerned.

He looked over at her and just nodded.

"I'm fine. I'll be in my room," he said and headed down the hall to his room, but Kari's voice stopped him.

"Sora called, she said to call her back once you got here," Kari informed him.

Tai, his back facing Kari, glared at the wall opposite him.  
_  
Probably wants to tell me all about how she and Matt spent the afternoon together... _

He continued walking, ignoring what Kari had said, but his sister spoke once more.

"Aren't you going to call her?" she asked him with a frown on her face.

Tai waved a dismissive hand over at her.

"Some other time," was his response, before he shut the door to his room with a thud.

Kari's frowned deepened. What was up with Tai? Something wasn't right. He wasn't acting himself at all...  
But her train of thought was interrupted when her mother called for her to set the table.

-------------------------------------------------------

"I like you Mimi. I've liked you for a while and well, I think you're very pretty and..."

Matt looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"No, that's not any good," he mumbled, as he passed a hand over his blonde hair nervously.

He had been practicing for half an hour, trying to figure out what he was gong to tell Mimi that afternoon during the concert. He had decided to follow Sora's advice and tell Mimi what he felt. Of course, it was easier said than done, because during that half an hour, Matt had become nervous and sweat was breaking out on his forehead. If that was what happened when he talked to himself, he dreaded to think of what would occur when he confronted Mimi.

"It's okay, I can do this, come on Matt," he urged himself and started practicing all over again.

T.K, who was passing Matt's room at that moment stopped outside his door when he heard "I really like your hair."

His face showed surprise and horror. He knew Matt had a bit of an obsession with his hair, but wasn't this taking it too far? He opened the door slightly and peeked through the open gap. He saw Matt talking to himself in the mirror, but breathed a sigh of relief when he realised Matt was pretending to talk to someone else, and not complementing his own hair and eyes.  
T.K watched amused for a while, watching Matt become nervous as he confessed his love for Mimi. The blonde boy wouldn't have imagined his older brother having a crush on Mimi, but he was even more surprised that he was planning on actually telling her. It was ridiculous really, how telling a girl he had spent months living with in the Digital World that he liked her made Matt so nervous, and yet, he was perfectly capable of singing and performing in front of hundreds of strangers.

T.K closed the door again and shook his head, chuckling slightly. He headed back to his room, hoping Matt didn't make an idiot of himself the next time he planned on seeing Mimi.

-----------------------------------------------------------

When Mimi and Sora showed up at Matt's concert, wearing their brand new clothing, they were amazed at how many people had come. While they knew Matt's band, The Teenage Wolves, had received a lot of positive attention, they Haydn't realised it had been such a hit. When they entered, the place was filled with mostly with teenagers, and the noise was deafening. Mimi, sporting a brand new white and pink dress she had fallen in love with the minute she saw it, was looking around at everyone, as though looking for someone. Sora was imitating Mimi, although searching for a completely different person. They walked around and met fellow friends and classmates, occasionally stopping to chat with them. When they spotted Izzy, Joe, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Cody, T.K, they made their way towards them to have a seat next to them.

Lights suddenly started flashing everywhere, and everyone started cheering and whistling as Matt and his band made their way on stage. He flashed them all a smile, and the girls screams increased even more. Mimi glared at them all before turning her attention back to the stage.

An hour and a half later, Matt ended the last song.

"Thanks guys, you've all been a great audience!" He said on the microphone and the cheering exploded once again. Exclamations of love were heard and various times 'Matt Marry Me!' and 'Matt call me, my phone number is...' were shouted in all directions. Matt just laughed as he and his band went off stage. Everyone started filing out of their seats, talking excitedly about what a great concert it had been. Sora and Mimi heard two girls chatting animately as they passed them, discussing what was the best way to get make Matt fall in love with them.  
Sora laughed, but Mimi glared at the two girls and scoffed.

"As if he'd like you," she muttered darkly, "Not with that t-shirt you're wearing..."

Sora tried to hide her smile.

They went in search of Matt, after having said goodbye to the others and reassured T.K that they would tell Matt that he was going out with Kari and therefore would not be home in a while. They found him poking his head out of the backstage curtains and looking around.  
He saw them and broke into a smile.

"Hi guys," he said, "Are there a lot of people still here?"

Sora shook her head.

"No, all the obsessed fan-girls have left," she told him.

He smiled and stepped out from behind the curtain to join them, his guitar slung over his shoulder.

"Good, I didn't really want to face them..." he said.

"It was a great concert Matt," Mimi told him, however it was only Sora who noticed the faint pink blush that appeared on his cheeks.

"Thanks," he said in what he hoped was a casual voice.

They made their way to the front doors to go outside, but Mimi notice a small stand where they sold drinks.

"Can you wait for me? I'm so thirsty, I'm gonna buy a drink okay?" Mimi told them and headed to the stand. She stood in line and waited patiently.

"So," Sora said innocently as they waited for Mimi to get back, "Mimi really enjoyed the concert you know."

Matt felt his face burn.

"She did? Well, that's-- that's good," he said, avoiding Sora's eye.

"It is isn't it?" said Sora happily, "Well at least for you it is," she added.

Matt turned to face her and glared.

"Sora..." he warned.

"I know, I know," she sighed, "No getting involved."

"That's right," Matt said, "But uh, I was er, thinking about, you know, telling her..."

The rest of his words were drowned by Sora's squeal.

"Really?" she exclaimed happily with a huge grin, "Matt that's great!"

She hugged him impulsively and Matt's smile grew as he hugged her back.

"Yeah," he said happily, "The only problem is I think I'm too scared..."

"Oh, come on Matt! For goodness sake you've faced evil and dangerous creatures who tried to kill you multiple times, and you can't even tell Mimi you like her?" Sora teased.

"Yeah," Matt smiled shyly, "You're right."

Sora nodded.

"I am."

"I can do this!" Matt's confidence started building, "I've faced much worst things in the past! This should be easy compared to all that! It _is _easy!"

Sora nodded and smiled.

Matt returned her smile with one of his own.

"Thanks Sora," he said .

Sora laughed. "Anytime."

They both turned around to see if Mimi was done buying her drink, but stood in surprise when there was no Mimi to be found. Only Jun Motomiya stood in line at the drink stand.

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**Author's Notes:**

Firstly, I forgot to put a disclaimer in so, this is for all those who have even considered thinking I own Digimon. I don't. : )  
Glad we got that settled.

Secondly, thank you so much to those who reviewed! It made me so happy to know that at least some people enjoy my story, you guys rock! I can't thank you enough, really.

Thirdly, I am so sorry. I truly am! I'm a horrible person for not updating sooner, but I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me. (Hope you all had great holidays by the way! And Happy New Year!)  
I'll try with all my might to write the next chapter soon, so it isn't a whole month before I update again. That said, I don't actually know how I'm going to end this story, although I have a slight idea.  
Any ideas are welcome, of course. : )

And finally, tell me what you thought! Did it completely suck, or did it keep you entertained? Reviews are highly appreciated, but please, I'd rather not have any that consist of 'Omg, this was such total crap, I wish you'd just die so you could stop writing...'  
I haven't actually had any like that, and I'd like to keep it that way, but if you find that you seriously can't help yourselves and absolutely HAVE to because it's a matter or life and death, can you at least reason _why_ it was so crap?

Thanks for reading!


	3. The one where Mimi runs away

--

She could not have been happier. She was sure, oh so sure, that it was time. Tonight was the night. The night she had been waiting for for quite a while now. The night she would always dream about, playing out the conversation in her head. What she would say, what he would say, what she'd be wearing, what _he'd_ be wearing...  
Tonight was the night Matt would turn into her Prince Charming, and she his Cinderella. Although much more better looking and richer, of course. God forbid Mimi ever had to clean floors and wash clothes by hand.  
Yes, Mimi was quite certain that tonight would be the night that Yamato Ishida would find out what it was exactly that Mimi felt for him. And, if she dared dream, he would return those feelings. Everything was going to go perfectly.  
With a little happy sigh, she waited nervously for her drink. Lost in her own little world, she didn't realise that someone was talking to her.

"Huh?" she said lost, not knowing what the girl in front of her was saying, and to be completely honest, not really caring either.

The girl with the spiky red hair just offered her a goofy smile.

"I said that's a nice dress Mimi," she repeated excitedly, clearly not noticing the other girl's disinterest.

Mimi didn't even bother to ask how on earth this stranger knew her name. It was common knowledge that everybody who was anybody in Odaiba High knew who Mimi Tachikawa was. As she constantly received flattering comments and compliments about her style of hair, choice of clothing (funny, since they all wore the same uniform to school), some even going so far as to admire her socks, she smiled quickly at the girl, saying a brief thanks and turning her head the other way, silently hoping the girl would stop talking so she could plan ahead her difficult and nerve-wrecking task. To Mimi's dismay however, the girl insisted on talking to her.

"I'm Jun, Jun Motomiya," she introduced herself with a happy grin.

Mimi, her interest sparked for a few seconds, wondered how she could not have seen the resemblance to Davis sooner. Of course, her mind was on other, more important things right now, so it was understandable she hadn't realised. As she looked Jun Motomiya up and down, taking in her exuberant outfit of a neon pink t-shirt that clashed horribly with her hair, and black pants that were a few seasons too old, she thought back to Davis, and determined that bad fashion sense was a genetic defect.  
Finishing her analysis of the bubbly and blessfully ignorant girl in front of her, Mimi decided she would be nice. She was feeling happy, there was no need to ruin it just because someone looked like they'd just chucked on the first thing they had seen when they'd opened their wardrobe. She smiled at the girl, who Mimi was sure wouldn't care either way whether Mimi insulted her or not, and politely introduced herself. Unfortunately, that just served to enhance Jun's excitement, and cause her to start blabbering on about the concert, and how much fun it had been, and 'Oh, didn't Matt look _gorgeous_ in that outfit?'.  
Mimi found herself nodding distractedly to everything Jun said. She might as well have said that ruffles were in this season, and Mimi would have agreed with her.

"Too bad he's taken though," Jun said with a resigned sigh.

Too right he's taken, Mimi thought smugly. After tonight, all those fan girls of his better watch out because Matt was hers and hers alone, and she wasn't going to tolerate any--

Wait a minute. How on earth did Jun know she and Matt were going to be together, when Matt himself didn't know what she felt?  
Unless... Unless... _No_.

"What did you say?" she snapped at the girl harshly, terror and panic taking over her.

Jun, raised her eyebrows, oblivious to Mimi's harsh tones, but surprised at the girls lack of knowledge. Wasn't she meant to be Matt's friend? How was it possible she didn't know that a close friend of hers was going out with someone?

"You don't know?" she asked surprised.

"Know what?" Mimi asked in a fearful voice.

Of course, Jun realised. Matt and his girlfriend- what was her name, Sara, Suri?- probably didn't want a lot of people knowing. It would make their life impossible, especially Sara's, when she had to avoid attacks from screaming and envious fan girls. It warmed her heart a little to know that they had been eager enough to tell her, Jun, and not even confess their secret relationship to their friends.

"Jun!" she was snapped back to the topic at hand when Mimi violently grabbed with both hands the girl's shoulders and started shaking her roughly.

"Will you tell me what I need to know already!" she exclaimed, her chocolate eyes practically burning into Jun's, filled with... was that panic?

"OK, OK!" Jun said quickly, trying to fight Mimi's death grip, "My goodness woman, calm yourself down!"

Mimi quickly realised that if she didn't let go of Jun, she would most likely end up shaking the life out of her.

"Oh, right," she said flustered, quickly letting go and patting Jun's shoulders as if to clear any wrinkles she may have made. She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

Jun just nodded, now aware as to why so many of her fellow classmates considered the brunette as sometimes completely and utterly terrifying.

"What was I saying?" Jun asked, regaining her posture. She took a look at Mimi's glaring face. "Oh right," she added quickly.

"Well," she started, relishing on the fact that Mimi was hooked on to her every word, "Matt's already got a girlfriend. I witnessed it myself, and, I'm disappointed to say that they look very happy and very in love."

For the first time in her life, Mimi was speechless. Taking on the well known goldfish look, opening and closing her mouth with no audible words coming out, she tried to control the rush of emotions that had taken control of her. Matt had a girlfriend, she found herself thinking numbly. And here I was, all this time, thinking I had a chance. She closed her eyes, willing the tears go back to where they came from. The last thing she needed now was to start bawling her eyes out like an idiot, only to have Matt and Sora rush over and ask her what was wrong. She had thought he was her Prince Charming. She had thought that they would end up together, living happily ever after. Oh god, how it hurt to know that he was living his happily ever after with someone else.

She had always been able to tell what people's feelings toward others were, like how Tai was completely enamored with Sora. And how T.K and Kari seemed to be a match made in heaven. Oh god. How on earth was she ever going to face him again? She felt so, so stupid. The painful realisation that she hadn't won Matt's heart was too much to bear, let alone the fact that she had actually considered him liking her back.  
Dreading the answer, but curious to know it, she asked Jun who it was that Matt was so in love with. She opened her eyes to see her looking over at Matt and Sora.

"There they are," she told Mimi, nodding with her head in their direction, "They do make a good couple don't they? She's very pretty too."

Mimi's shock was momentarily replaced with confusion. With a heavy frown marring her features, she turned to look at Sora and Matt. Matt appeared to be blushing, but both were sporting a smile.

"I don't understand..." she trailed off, looking perplexed at Jun.

"Yes, look, right over there. He's with her right now," she said, moving to take Mimi by her shoulders, and turning her whole body to face them. "Sera or Sora I think her name is."

Mimi's eyes were wide as saucers. Matt and Sora? No way. It had to be a joke. Sora had never _ever_ shown an interest in him. On the contrary, she sometimes grumbled about his obsession with his need to have his hair perfect at all times, and how his somber mood sometimes made her want to hit him so she could get at least _some_sort of reaction. What Sora liked in a guy was the complete opposite of what Matt was. It was silly. It was ridiculous. It was like combining green with red. Separately, they were two great colours, but together, they just clashed. It was absurd. But when she turned to look at Jun and saw no trace of amusement in her facial features, she realised, with a sharp intake of breath, that it was true. She turned back to face the couple just as they shared an intimate hug. They separated and both started grinning. The dreamy smile on Matt's face wasn't lost on her, and to know that his smile was meant for her best friend, and not for her, made her heart break in two. There was nothing she could do to stop the tears now. She let out a sob, earning a worried glance from Jun, and turned away quickly.

"Mimi, are you okay..?" but Jun's question wasn't answered nor heard, since Mimi had sprinted off toward the exit doors, leaving Jun standing in line, completely baffled.

_The poor dear_, she thought to herself, stepping up to the counter, _I'm amazed at how obsessed some girls are with famous boys... Good thing you're not like that, Jun._

_  
_

_--_

"Did you see how everyone loved Matt? It was incredible!" Kari laughed, as she and T.K walked down the street. T.K had offered to walk Kari home after the concert, and the latter had blushingly accepted, secretly overjoyed that she wouldn't head home alone, and had none other than T.K to accompany her. A little stroll with a slight spring breeze that carried the scent of freshly bloomed flowers, in Kari's opinion, could always help grow two people's relationship couldn't it?

"He's gotten so popular, I was actually scared for him when that mob of girls tried to get on the stage," he told her with a smile.

Kari hit his arm playfully and smiled up at him.

"Well, I'm sure being Matt Ishida's brother must have its perks too," she teased him.

T.K laughed and grinned confidently.

"Yeah, all girls love a mini Matt," he said cheekily, "I even had someone ask for my autograph before. I should start a fan club."

"Well, well, you might just take after your brother after all," she told him laughing.

"Not a chance," he shook his head and flashed her a smile, "Just the thought of standing in front of hundreds of people makes me nervous."

"Funny, Matt doesn't seem to have that problem," she mused, "He's pretty confident isn't he?"

"Only when he's on a stage," T.K smiled wickedly, suddenly remembering Matt talking to himself in the mirror, trying to tell Mimi what he felt. Laughing out loud at the memory, he recounted the anecdote to Kari, who was clutching her sides from giggling so much when he finished.

"Oh, dear, poor Matt," she giggled, "But that wasn't completely unexpected. I always thought he and Mimi would make a nice couple."

"Yeah, well," T.K offered, "I'm afraid by the time he gets around to telling her, I'll have invented a time travelling machine."

"And here I was thinking you weren't a science kind of guy," she smiled.

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" he said.

Kari smiled and they walked in a comfortable silence. They had almost reached her building when T.K remembered something he had wanted to ask her.

"Kari, where's Tai? I haven't seen him lately," he frowned, looking up at the building in front of him as though it held some sort of clue, "He wasn't at the concert either."

"He's at home," Kari sighed, "This is only a feeling, but I think something's up."

"What do you mean?"

"He's just... not himself. He sulks around the house, locks himself in his room and won't come out. We had to literally drag him out for lunch!"

"He doesn't want to eat?" T.K asked, shocked. It wasn't like Tai to give up food. "Something must really be bothering him then."

"Yeah," Kari nodded worriedly, "But he won't tell me. It's like he's shut himself away. I'm going to try talking to him though, I can't stand seeing him like this."

T.K nodded, "Best way to solve the problem is to find the cause."

Kari smiled up at him, and he felt his cheeks grow warm.

They had reached Kari's apartment building, and were standing outside the main door. Turning around to face her with a cheeky smile, intending to tell her that he should go, since all those fangirls would be missing him, all traces of it disappeared when his eyes locked with hers. Instead, his palms got all sweaty, and keeping his eyes locked with Kari's was the only thing he could do to keep himself from running away. _Now was the time_, T.K thought. _Go for it, you've nothing to lose_. But telling Kari how he felt wasn't as easy as he thought it would have been. He suddenly felt bad for laughing at Matt, as T.K thought his own attempts wouldn't be much better.  
Deciding he should probably say something before Kari left to go inside, he willed himself to open his mouth and say something. Anything.

"I really like your hair," he blurted out without thinking, and mentally kicked himself as soon as the words were out. What on earth was that! That was pathetic! Oh god, he really was starting to resemble Matt. Kari frowned in confusion and an amused smile appeared on her face, while T.K, wide-eyed, tried frantically to think of something else, anything else to say.

"I mean," he started nervously, rubbing his palms against his sides to free them of sweat, "I... I..."

"What is it T.K?" Kari asked gently, placing a hand on his arm.

Now or never.

"I really like you Kari. As something a lot more than a friend," he finally sighed, eyes glancing briefly down, a faint pink colouring his cheeks. At least he hadn't stuttered. He was sure Matt would have stuttered.

With all the will power he had, he bravely lifted his eyes to meet hers. His eyebrows shot up when, for an instant, he saw Kari grinning, right before she had placed her lips on his and the two met in a gentle kiss.

--

Kari didn't know how she had made it all the way to her front door. She didn't even remember how she had gotten in the elevator, or pressed the button that took her to her floor. But there she was, standing in front of the Kamiya household. She was in a daze. She couldn't believe it. She had just kissed T.K, her best friend since their experience together as DigiDestined. And he had kissed her back! Did this make them boyfriend and girlfriend? Kari wasn't sure what to do now. All she knew was that she had enjoyed kissing T.K. A lot. And she hoped she'd get to do it more often.  
Walking into her home, lost in her own little world, she didn't notice anything around her. Tai was sitting on the couch, lazily surfing through the channels. He looked up when he saw Kari enter, and followed her with his gaze until she quietly sat down on the free couch, eyes never getting rid of that far-away look. Tai, eyebrows raised at his sister's quiet demeanour, never took his eyes off her, contemplating her and trying to put his finger on what was different about her, apart from the obvious fact that she was silent as a tomb and she kept her gaze forward, never even blinking.

And then, suddenly, with no explicable reason nor warning, Kari grabbed a pillow from her side, stuffed her face in it and let out a high pitched shriek.  
Tai, startled to death by his sister's sudden act, acted on instinct. He jumped up on the couch, grabbing a pillow and placing it in front of himself as a shield and he too, screamed.

"HOLY MOTHER OF-"

He didn't finish the sentence, however, because just as quickly as his sister had started shrieking, she had now taken the pillow from her face, only to reveal a humongous grin. She was giggling hysterically, her eyes twinkling, and she got up on the couch and started jumping happily up and down, punching the air with glee.

Tai was astonished. Keeping his shield-pillow firmly in front of him, he swivelled his head around it to take a look at Kari. His mouth fell open at the sight of her, and he just stood there, wondering what the _hell_was wrong with his sister. Both siblings stood like that for a while, Tai too scared to do anything, and Kari too lost in celebration to notice Tai.  
Panting, Kari finally stopped jumping up and down on the couch, and took deep breaths to calm herself, the large grin never leaving her face. Once her breathing was back to normal she looked around and finally saw Tai. This one, scared for his safety, quickly hid his head behind the pillow once more, hoping with every bone in his body that Kari hadn't seen him.

"Oh," was all that Kari said after realising her brother was standing a meter away fom her with a pillow covering his face, "Hi Tai."

Warily, he cautiously stuck his head out once more from behind the pillow.

"Um," he wasn't quite sure what to say, "Hi Kari?"

Kari just offered him a larger grin, and Tai feared her mouth would take over her whole face. Placing the pillow next to her and sitting down as though nothing had happened, Kari placed her hands in her lap and fixed her gaze on the TV. Slowly and oh so carefully, Tai grudgingly put the pillow down and imitated his sisters action by sitting down on the couch and placing both hands in his lap. The two siblings stayed like that, with twin postures, their attention fixed solely on the television, Kari once again in her own little world, and Tai too fearful to say anything.

They were still like that when Mrs. Kamiya opened the door to their home, shouted a nice and loud, 'I'm home!' and stood stock still when she reached the living room carrying a grocery bag. Kari and Tai didn't budge though, although Tai's eyes shot nervous glances toward his mum. Trying to explain with only his eyes that Kari had had a completely mental moment not too long ago, widening his eyes when he was describing her jumping up and down, and closing them for effect to represent him hiding behind the pillow, he thought he had done a pretty good job at an explanation. His mother however, merely raised an eyebrow and worried slightly about his son's mental health. Now that she thought about it, he hadn't been eating as much as he used to... Maybe the lack of food his body was accustomed to was making him delirious.

Deciding to put a silence to this eerie quite that had invaded the normally raucous Kamiya home, she carefully placed the grocery bag on the coffee table and looked at her children.

"Kids?" she asked carefully, the word seemingly echoing in the silence.

"KARI JUST ACTED ALL WEIRD!" Tai shouted, jumping up on the couch and pointing a blaming finger at his sister, who too could not keep her mouth closed any second longer.

"T.K AND I KISSED!" she blurted out, then turning a fairly pink-ish shade as she realised what she had just exclaimed.

Once more another silence ensued, this time rewarding Tai and his mother with jawlines that reached the floor.

They stood like that until Tai finally reacted.

"I'll kill him!" he shouted angrily, jumping off the couch and rushing toward the door, only to realise that his arms and legs were moving, but he wasn't getting any closer to it. Turning his head around, he saw his mother had gotten a grip on his t-shirt and was preventing him from making any process on his Must-Kill-T.K mission.

"You aren't going to kill anyone Tai," Kari told him dryly.

"Wanna bet," he grumbled under his breath, doubling his efforts on getting to the door. He grew tired quickly though, and with a resigned sigh stopped trying. "Fine," he huffed, "I'll let him live. For now." He turned back around to face his sister and mother, crossing his arms in front of his chest, with every intention of appearing dangerous. Much to his dismay, his mother and sister weren't fooled by his actions, and knew he was trying hard not to pout like a 5 year old who had been denied his favourite toy.

Her mother, her reaction the exact opposite to Tai's, was smiling warmly at her daughter. Ever since she was little, they had always shared everything. Kari had always told her secrets to her mother, and had always looked for her mother's approval. Now, seeing her mum with a smile on her face, and right after confessing that she had kissed her first boy no less, conjured up a small smile on her features and made her feel giddy with happiness.

"Well," her mother said, "I've always thought T.K was a very nice young man. Very handsome too," she added with a wink that made Kari blush red and Tai groan, "Please, save me the torture and kill me now."

Grabbing the grocery bag and sharing a secret smile with her daughter and a look that said We'll-talk-about-details-later, she left her son and daughter in the living room so she could go make dinner. Kari looked over at Tai, who had sat down on the couch and was looking grumpily anywhere but at his sister.

"Oh, come on Tai," Kari sighed, going over to sit next to her brother. She tucked one leg underneath her and let the other hang over the side of the couch, "Can't you be at least a little bit happy for me?"

Tai looked at her suspiciously, before turning his attention somewhere else. He decided glaring at the man on the television would do. He had never really liked that anchor-man anyway. Did he really think nobody knew that that small quantity of hair on top of his head was a wig?

"Tai," Kari prodded his side gently, "Come on. You can't stay mad forever."

"Yes, I can," he said stubbornly.

"I really like him Tai," she confessed gently, blushing slightly once more, "And I have for a while now. And I'm happy, really happy, because he likes me too." _And he likes my hair_, she thought with a smile.

Tai let out a sigh and looked over at his sister. Her warm eyes were glowing, alight with happiness and she looked as though the smile on her face would never leave.

"Well, at least it wasn't Davis," he muttered, "There's only room for one goggle-head in this family."

Kari threw her head back and laughed, emitting a soft happy noise as she reached forward to hug her brother. Her smile was infectious and Tai found himself smiling into her hair. If Kari was happy, he'd be happy. And, if he was completely honest with himself, he liked T.K. He would make Kari happy and treat her right. It would have been a pity to have to kill him.

When they let go, Tai rearranged his features quickly, making sure Kari didn't see even the ghost of a smile on his face. They both turned back to the TV. The disliked anchor-man was know organizing his notes, which he had just dropped all over the floor in an act of clumsiness.

"I still think you're not old enough to have a boyfriend," he muttered after a few seconds of silence.

Kari let out a derisive snort of laughter. "Oh _please,_" she said with a roll of her eyes, "When you were my age you had already had at least 3 girlfriends. And you didn't even like them!"

"I did too like them!"

"No you didn't Tai," she shook her head, "You wanted Sora but were too chicken to do anything, so you said yes to all the pretty girls that asked you out. You liked Sora- You still _do _like Sora." She placed a hand over her heart and one over her forehead, and with a dramatic voice said, "Face it Tai. She's the love of your life."  
Grinning as she turned to look at him, it soon faded when she noticed her brother's stony expression on his face. The sudden change of attitude had her raising her eyebrows in surprise, and then frowning in worry.

Tai's whole body was tensed, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white, and his eyes, now cool instead of teasing, were determined to stare straight ahead.  
Had Kari crossed some sort of invisible line she didn't know about?

"Are- Are you okay Tai?" Kari asked, looking nervously at her brother.

"Fine," he answered coldly.

Not believing him for a second, and knowing a good reason as to why Tai would be this cold, she placed a warm hand on his chin and gently turned his face to look at her. Once their eyes were locked, she raised her eyebrows and asked carefully, "Has something happened with Sora?"

Tai looked like he wanted to shout at her angrily, push her away and tell her to mind her own business. But Kari's warm eyes reminded him so much of Sora's that he found it impossible to even raise his voice in the slightest. Instead, he just hung his head in defeat, and slumped his shoulders, all pretense of coldness gone. There, now standing in front of her was a vulnerable Tai she had only seen a unique number of times her whole life. She gently grabbed both of his larger hands in her smaller ones and talked in a gentle voice.

"Hey... What's wrong?"

Tai raised his eyes to hers and she saw the devastating sadness that filled them.

"Sora...," he started, trying hard not to let his voice catch, "She... She..."

"Yes?" Kari asked carefully, having a slight idea as to what had happened. Sora had rejected her brother. He had finally had the courage to tell her how he felt, and she had rejected him. Oh, poor Tai, how much pain he must be in right now...

"She..." he took a deep breath, "She's going out with Matt."

Kari was unable to hide her surprise, therefore was unable to stop herself from exclaiming, "What?"

Tai just nodded sadly. "I saw them together, and they were holding each other, and Matt said he, he said how much he _loved _her, and Sora, she... she..." he just trailed off, the words too painful to be said out loud.

Kari just opened her mouth, forming a perfect 'O'.

"But," she said with a heavy frown, "That's impossible. T.K. just told me earlier that Matt was planning on telling Mimi that he liked her!"

"What?" Tai said forcefully, spinning around to face his sister, "No way."

"I swear," she promised, "Matt was practising in front of a mirror how he was going to tell Mimi he liked her. He was fully serious too."

Were it not such a delicate subject and a serious conversation, Tai would have been howling with laughter at the idea of Matt using his reflection to practice his romance. But this wasn't the time for a stupidity like that.

"So he's going out with Sora but plans on telling Mimi he wants her, _as well_?" Kari said, not quite believing it herself. She was shocked. She never would have expected Matt, such a loyal friend, to act like this.

"That two-timing bas-"

"Poor Sora," she interrupted him, eyes wide with shock, "She's going to be cheated on with her best friend!"

Kari started imagining the different scenarios in her head. Sora walking in on Mimi and Matt kissing. Sora finding a letter addressed to Mimi from Matt, saying how much he loved her. But wait- Mimi was Sora's best friend. She had to know about Sora and Matt. If she knew, would she willingly let Matt cheat on her, just like that? No, Kari shook her head forcefully, Mimi wasn't like that. But then a fearful thought struck her... What if Mimi had no idea, and she and Matt got together.. at the same time that Sora and Matt were together. Oh god...

She looked up to express her worries with Tai, but closed her mouth when she saw him. He was visibly shaking with anger. Kari saw it in his eyes, and his fists were once more clenched so tightly, Kari winced, knowing it must hurt. Tai, though, was oblivious to the pain.  
How could Matt be so utterly selfish? Not only did he ask Sora out knowing that he, Tai, his _best friend _was completely and utterly in love with her, and had been for a while, but he also wanted Mimi? How could he just hurt Sora like that? She didn't deserve it. And Tai would be damned if he let Matt get away with hurting Sora.

Getting up glaring, with only one thing in mind, he left the living room, leaving Kari mid-sentence as she asked him where he was going. He passed the kitchen and heard his mother turn around at the sound of footsteps.

"I'm going out for a bit Mum, I won't be gone too long," he told her calmly and made his way to the front door.

"Honey, you're not going to kill T.K. are you?" his mother shouted over the whistling of the steaming pot that was cooking the vegetables.

"No," he shouted back and opened the door to step outside. The cool air was refreshing against his hot skin, but so full of anger, he didn't even notice. "I'm going to kill his brother," he said coldly.

--

**Author's Notes:**

Er, Hi. Remember me? : )  
I should probably be bowing down to all of you reading this out there, apologising profusely for taking such a long _long _time to update. In my defense, it's been a crazy couple of months, but I'm sure you don't want to hear it. So really, I am sorry. I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me : ) I made this chapter a bit longer too, as another way to apologise.

This chapter had a lot of Takari, so I hope all you Takari fans enjoyed it : ) I tried my hardest!

On a final note, I promise,_ officially _promise, that I won't take another couple of months to write the next chapter.  
To everyone reading this, although I'm sure most of you might have abandoned it as a lost cause, I hope you're enjoying it! A review on your opinion would be highly appreciated : )

Thanks for reading everyone : )


	4. The one where Tai and Matt fight

"She was there, a second ago..."

Sora's words trailed off as she and Matt looked around, to see if any brown curls could be spotted. Their search turned to be in vain, however, when none were found. They went outside, wondering why on earth Mimi would disappear without saying a word.

"You don't think... You don't think something's happened to her, do you?" Matt said in a panicked voice.

Sora found herself speechless, having not once considered the possibility. Her worries were increased by Matt's comment; Mimi was young and beautiful, was it possible she been kidnapped? It would explain why she hadn't said goodbye. But there had been others with her at the drink stand, if she had been taken involuntarily, surely someone would have heard? Mimi had one hell of a shriek. Sora discarded the idea of kidnap.

"I...I don't know," Sora answered truthfully, looking up at Matt helplessly, "At least, I don't think so."

"Let's go look for her, it's better than just staying here doing nothing. I'll go inside, you check out here... She couldn't have gone far, we saw her barely a minute ago," Matt said as he turned to reenter the doors once more. His head swiveled back around as he wished Sora good luck, until the doors closed behind him with a loud noise.

She took a look around and set off to find her best friend, worried as she spotted no pink among the few in the crowd. Where on earth had she gotten to?

x-x-x-x

"He-He left me! _He_ left _m-me_! Why?! How could he do th-that to me? To m-me!"

Mimi sat on a wooden bench surrounded by bright green trees and beautifully bloomed flowers. The kaleidoscope of colours that surrounded her contrasted her morose mood. You would think, the day Mimi's heart broke, all roses would wither and die, all leaves would shrivel and the grass would dry up. But no, it seemed nature cared little of Mimi's feelings. She sat in a stunned silence, eyes finally dry after silent tears had come crashing down her cheeks. The shocking news had finally registered... Her best friend was going out with the only boy who had ever captured her heart. Worst of all, her best friend was _in love_. _They_ were in love. They were happy _together_. And in their perfect, happy world Mimi was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't help but being hurt; how could Sora have completely erased her from her mind when Matt had asked her out? Or had it been Sora to ask Matt out? She didn't know which was worse.

"W-what am I going to do? H-he was everything! He i-is everything!"

Sadness and confusion were soon overcome by anger, though. And Mimi's wrath was one you wanted no part of. Sora could have, no, _should _have had the decency to tell her, wasn't she at least allowed that? Sora knew full well Mimi liked and could very well -did she dare admit it?- _love_him. Had she even taken her feelings into consideration before going out with Matt? And here, Mimi had always envied her best friend. Kind, beautiful, selfless Sora. There was no wrong Sora could do, or no wrong she couldn't turn right. How it would shock everyone to know she had ignored years of friendship and trust to go out with some boy. But it wasn't just a boy. It was THE boy. Mimi sighed. She honestly didn't know whether to be angry or sad. Having past the denial and depression stage, she was at a loss as to which one came next.

"And- and now, he's with-"

"Oh, will you get a grip!" Mimi snapped at the sobbing girl sitting next to her on the bench.

The helpless girl looked at Mimi, eyebrows raised in surprise and she stared at her in a stunned silence.

"You're not the only one with a broken heart, you know!" Mimi glared angrily at the wide-eyed girl, "So suck it up and stop blubbering like an idiot!"

With fierce determination, Mimi got up from the bench. She would not cry for them. She would not shed any more tears. They weren't worth it. She would teach her- _and him_, she though darkly- that Mimi Tachikawa was not someone to be trifled with. Without a backwards glance, she left the bewildered, crying girl with a broken heart behind.

x-x-x-x

"Come on... pick up!" Kari muttered anxiously into the phone. She had been trying for the last five minutes but to no avail. T.K's voice answered automatically on the other line.

"Hey, this is T.K! Can't come to the phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll call back as soon as possible! BEE-"

"Argh!" Kari slammed the phone down on the table in frustration. Why wasn't T.K answering? Girlfriend-mode kicked in and she found herself suddenly worried. Her first thought was that something had happened to him on his way back to Matt's concert, which was where he was supposed to be meeting his brother after walking Kari home and giving the band enough time to have packed up. Then, he and Matt would go to his dad's house for the remainder of the weekend. But she had already called there and their dad had informed her that the boys weren't back yet.  
Adding fuel to her worries, Tai had suddenly disappeared to god knows where, obviously upset after learning Matt's intentions.

She desperately needed to talk to T.K to seek the reassurance she needed at the moment. He would know why Matt was suddenly acting the player and planning on dating two girls at the same time. Surely fame couldn't have increased his ego that much?

"Argh!" Kari screamed once more, hands pulling her hair in frustration, "Everything just doesn't make sense!"

She checked the time and saw it wasn't quite as late as she had previously thought. Her mind made up in that split second, she rushed to her room, grabbed a warmer coat and rushed past the kitchen without giving it so much as a last glance.

"Now hold on a minute young lady!" her mother reproached her as she stepped through the kitchen door and saw her daughter hurry toward the front door, "Where on earth are you going?"

"Sorry Mum!" she called out over her shoulder as she opened the door, "I'll be back soon, I promise!"

"Why on earth-" Mrs Kamiya's question was interrupted by the loud, closing thud of the door.

x-x-x-x

"No luck huh?"

Sitting herself down with a resigned sigh, Sora leaned her head back against the cool wood of the bench.  
She was tired and cold, not having brought with her a warmer jacket. Then again, she hadn't planned on staying so long after the concert either. There was no sight of Mimi, and half an hour after her failed search she had gone back to the entrance, where she had last seen Matt.

She turned her head tiredly to the blonde boy beside her and gave a small shake of her head. He let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Me either."

Matt's face was covered in a frown and his eyes were deep in concentration. Then, as though giving up, he too leaned back against the bench with eyes shut and a lost expression on his face. Sora watched him carefully, admittedly a bit amazed and awed at seeing such a vulnerable Matt, one she had never seen before.

"Hey," she nudged him gently with her arm as a way of comfort, "Don't frown so much, you'll get wrinkles. And you know how Mimi feels about wrinkles..."

Her attempt at getting him to lighten up worked; a small smile started to appear on his face and he opened his eyes to look at her.

"She's gone home, Matt. I'm sure. We're just being silly overprotective friends who will wake up tomorrow late, due to being out here so long looking for her, and will get a call from Mimi waking us up, screaming at us that we're late for our usual Sunday morning breakfasts and manicures... Well," she added as an afterthought, "You probably won't have to suffer through the manicure, but I'm sure I will."

Matt threw his head back and laughed, turning to grin at her. He was about to reply when something past Sora's shoulder caught his eye. A figure was making their way towards them and he squinted trying to figure out who it was in the dark. When he recognised the all too familiar mop of brown hair his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What are you...?" Sora asked upon seeing his face and turned around to get a glimpse at what it was that Matt was staring at. Her heart started fluttering quickly when she saw who it was. She would recognise his silhouette anywhere.

"Tai!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bench and throwing herself at him. She hugged him tightly but froze when he felt Tai's body tense at the sudden contact. She hadn't even thought twice about attacking him with a huge hug, it had been an instinctive reaction after not hearing from him from so long. Okay, so maybe a day and a half wasn't that long, but for Sora it had seemed like an eternity. She pulled away quickly, her face blushing horribly at his lack of response, and thanked the stars it was dark so he couldn't see.

"Where on earth have you been? We were worried sick!" Sora accused him as Matt made his way over to them.

"Bit late for the concert aren't you?" Matt joked as he walked over.

Tai, who was trying very hard not to let the feel of Sora in his arms and her flowery scent invade his senses, tensed at Matt's voice. His eyes slowly left Sora's and looked over at Matt. His (ex) best friend was grinning at him and it was doing nothing to control Tai's anger. The other two, however, seemed unaware that Mount Tai was about to explode.

"We were trying to find Mimi," Sora told him, making him tear his glare away from Matt, "But we can't find her."

Tai tried to keep his anger at bay upon hearing the news. Mimi, huh? That sure was quick, Matt...

"Any particular reason you wanted to find Mimi?" he tried to ask as casually as possible.

Sora frowned at him in confusion, having caught something odd in Tai.

"Er.." she said slowly, "Matt wanted to tell her something..."

And that was all it took for chaos to ensue.

Controlled completely by his rage, Tai didn't even think before pushing Sora roughly aside and stalking over to Matt. Sora let out a surprise cry as the force of Tai's shove made her stumble sidewards and fall on her knees. Matt frowned at Tai's sudden harsh movements and frowned.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked angrily, making his way over to Sora to see if she was okay. Tai blocked his path however, and as Matt looked up bewildered at his actions, as he too was pushed roughly backwards.

"What the hell Tai?!" he shouted angrily. Incensed, Matt pushed him back violently.

"Tai! Matt!" Sora cried as she got up from the ground and looked wildly between the two boys, "Stop it!"

The boys paid her no attention, however. Tai grabbed Matt by the collar and hissed furiously, "How dare you?"

"Get off me!" the blonde spat, "What the hell are you doing Tai? I thought we were friends!"

Tai laughed, a short, harsh chuckle.

"Friends," he spat the word out back in Matt's face, "Don't be such a hypocrite. Friend's don't betray each other like you have Matt."

And with that, he punched him. A nice, clean blow to his rock-star face. Tai hoped he had hit him hard enough to break his nose and got some satisfaction when he saw Matt stagger backwards clumsily, hands over his face, a split lip and a few drops of blood falling from his nose.

Sora's scream fell on deaf ears and her wide eyes couldn't believe what was happening. She pushed past Tai and rushed to Matt who was holding his face and squinting his eyes in pain.

"Have you gone mad Tai?!" she screamed at him furiously as she knelt beside him to help him. "What on earth is your problem?!"

But Tai's satisfaction was cut short when he saw Sora's accusing stare directed at him. Of course, take his side! Doesn't matter that he was going to break your heart! he thought furiously and his palms clenched and unclenched in fury.

"Tai!"

Matt and Sora looked up and Tai turned around as he heard someone call his name. When his eyes landed on the small figure running towards them he stared in disbelief.

"Kari? What are you doing-" His voice was interrupted when he felt someone tackle him to the ground. Matt, who had used Tai's moment of distraction to his advantage, fell on top of the other teenage boy and punched him right back.

"Matt!" Sora and Kari cried out at the same time.

Both boys rolled on the ground, fighting and struggling as each one tried to attack the other at the same time.

"Tai? Matt!" the girls heard another voice exclaim behind them.

"T.K!" Kari cried as the young blonde made his way over to them, eyes fixed on Tai and Matt fighting.

"What's going on?" he exclaimed in surprise, and without waiting for a response, he marched forward to stop the fight. Sora followed him, with Kari trailing behind. T.K rushed over to Matt and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him away from Tai as Kari did the same with her brother. Both struggled against the chains of their arms, until they were left panting for breath, looking murderously at each other.

When they were sure they weren't going to rush off to deliver more blows, Kari and T.K let go of them and carefully stepped in between them.

"WHAT was that?" Sora cried indignantly as her face went from Tai's bruising eyes to Matt's bloody nose, "Someone explain because I fail to see the logic of acting like a bunch of gorillas and beating each other up!"

"Well?!" she cried once more when she received no reply.

"Ask him," Matt spat, glaring furiously at Tai, "He's the one who started it with no real reason!"

"No real reason?!" Tai exclaimed as he tried to lunge forward once more but was stopped by Kari pressing a hand to his chest.

"Tai, what you did was completely uncalled for!" Sora said angrily as she turned to face him, "You could have killed him!"

"You're taking his side?!" Tai exclaimed in disbelief.

Boiling rage bubbled inside him. There she went, taking Matt's side in all of this. Didn't she know that the only reason he had done it was because of her? Because her _boyfriend_was about to cheat on her with her best friend? It was all for her and yet... Something froze deep inside Tai's heart as he contemplated the situation. Sora would never love him. She had proved it to him just know. It was Matt, not Tai, who she had gone to check on first before turning angrily on him. And in that moment, she had chosen. Feeling numb, Tai thought he heard his heart shatter.

"So that's it," Tai said softly, his voice cold as ice. "That's it."

With Sora's furious glare in response, he turned around and left. He had to get out of there. Away from everything and everyone... away from the pain.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So... long time, huh? To be completely honest, my attention isn't as centred around fanfiction as much as it used to be, and even getting this chapter up was painful. It's not my best, but the guilt was getting to be too much, and so with a fierce determination I tried as best as I could to write this chapter up... I don't know, I'm still not convinced. Truly am sorry for the long wait.

To anyone still reading, sorry for a crappy update. My mind's set on at least finishing the story but I don't really know where to go from here. It's the worst case of writer's block EVER.

Hope you enjoyed it, at least :) I really did try. Review, please? Help my motivation rise up a notch? Just to let me know there actually are people interested...

Feel free to flame away aswell. Lol.


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